Minnow rigs are extremely popular for stream fishing and for trolling. A minnow rig that is effective holds a live minnow in a natural position, the minnow being hooked in such a way that a game fish attempting to swallow the minnow is hooked.
Conventional minnow rigs on the market usually comprise a treble hook at a free end of the line with a single hook spaced a predetermined distance along the line from the treble hook and securely tied to the line (at the factory) by a friction knot that secures the single hook shank and the line so as to hold the minnow in position. Such conventional rigs are not readily adaptable to minnows of different size, and may cause the minnow to be doubled up, rendering it useless as effective bait. Additionally, the snagging of a hook also can cause movement of the single hook with respect to the treble hook, killing the minnow or otherwise rendering it ineffective as bait. Other commercially available minnow rigs have similar problems associated therewith, the rigs either being too bulky or being arranged in such a way that they often result in the minnow being killed or held in an unnatural position.
According to the apparatus of the present invention, a minnow rig is provided that generally eliminates the drawbacks inherent in prior art commercially available minnow rigs, and according to the method of the present invention a minnow rig may be baited with a live minnow in such a way that a wide variety of sizes of minnows may be accommodated with the minnow always held in a natural position, serving as effective bait.
According to the apparatus of the present invention a minnow rig is provided including a first hook adapted to be disposed in a tail portion of a live minnow, a second hook adapted to be disposed in a head portion of a live minnow, and a single line. The first hook includes a portion for connection to a free end of the line, and the rig additionally comprises means integrally connected to the second hook for effecting connection of the single line to the second hook by friction wrapping for holding the second hook in a predetermined fixed relative position with respect to the first hook along the line. The term "friction wrapping" as used in the present specification and claims refers to knotless connection of a line to a hook by the line, including the threading of the line with respect to surface manifestations of the hook so that frictional forces between line portions and hook portions and other line portions prevent disengagement of the hook and line. The second hook may be constructed in a number of ways as by bending a single wire in a particular configuration or by providing a plate with various surface manifestations. The term "plate" as used in the specification and claims encompasses arched, contoured, and curved members as well as planar members.
According to another aspect of the apparatus of the present invention, an article in general is provided for connection to a continuous strand without knotting of the strand and without accessory securing devices. The article comprises an integral body member, a generally T-shaped projection projecting from the body member, a first strand-receiving surface manifestation formed in the body member, and a second strand-receiving surface manifestation formed in the body member. The generally T-shaped projection and the surface manifestations are arranged in a generally linear relationship with the first and second surface manifestations on opposite sides of the generally T-shaped projection.
According to the method of the present invention, a method is provided for the baiting of a minnow rig with a live minnow, for stream fishing and trolling, the minnow being held in natural position. The minnow rig includes first and second hooks in a single line. The method comprises the steps of placing the first hook through a tail portion of the live minnow, adjusting the length of the single line between the first hook and the second hook so that the second hook may be placed in a head portion of the minnow with the minnow in a natural position, placing the second hook through a head portion of the minnow, and fricting wrapping the single line with respect to the second hook to hold the second hook in the position to which it has been adjusted with respect to the first hook and to thereby hold the minnow in a natural position. The free end of the line may normally be detached from the first hook in which case the line is threaded with respect to the second hook so that the line is in position to be friction wrapped, and the free end of the line is fastened to the first hook after placing the hook in the tail portion of the minnow but before adjusting of the length of the single line between the first hook and the second hook.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for effective positioning of a minnow on a minnow rig, and for tying of a line to an article without knotting of the line and without using accessory devices. These and other objects of the invention will become clear from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention, and from the appended claims.